Wow! This was a fantastic read which made me want to get on the next flight to Kenya and take over Fiona's camel bookmobile! Fiona is a mid 30's New Yorker librarian who applies for a position to start a bookmobile, travelling to remote villages in Kenya. Mididima, a semi nomadic village becomes her favourite stop. Here she meets book loving Kanika and her grandmother, Neema, Matani, the village teacher and the reclusive Scar Boy. Alas, not everyone is so enthusiastic about the bookmobile - a number of villagers think this new knowledge will threaten the security and tradition of their community. When two books go missing tensions arise between those who welcome all that the books represent and those who prefer the time honoured oral traditions of the tribe. Each of the main characters take a turn in narrating a chapter and we see how the bookmobile changes each of their lives.This book shows just how much power books have to transport people, even those in a teeny village in Africa, to new places where everything is possible.
Brilliant!!
1 comment:
Hmm, sounds interesting...again one for my TBR list ;-). I have only just begon with reading books by African writers/books taking place in Africa so I'm very much interested. Thanks for sharing.
Post a Comment